Any idea which era this desk could be from? Purchased in New Zealand off Facebook marketplace

Hi guys,

We bought this desk off Facebook and have no idea the age of it.

We've been told that it's likely to be Pre-WWII but have never really had a clear guidance.

We got this in New Zealand off Facebook Marketplace for about $100USD.

Size is about:

W 60cm / 23 inches
L 125 CM / 49 inches
H 60cm / 23 inches

Weight: Very heavy

Hopefully someone can give us more clues!

 

Here....for ' clear guidance ' ....we require....

Clear crisp photo's..... not links.
Whatever you already know about the item..
Where it's at...
What size is it...
Any marks on it....

Y'know.........help us, to help you !! --

 

I've posted the images in the gallery, hope you can see it?

Also have updated dimensions and where we got it from.

 

That's just lovely..........can you transfer them here please !

These are the Forums.....the Gallery is for storing pics...& no one looks there.

 

Oh, & while you're at it.....set your Gallery to Not Private.....
There's no pics there, that anyone can see while it's on Private.

 

Oh, that's why I can see them and no one else can.

Apologies.

Can you please tell me if it's better now?

 

From the key/lock, heavy oak and semi-industrial construction, with serial numbers stamped on it, I would put this towards the end of the first quarter of the 20thC, maybe a tad later. Probably came out of a government office or similar.

 

Nice job on showing the details of the piece in your photos.

 

60 cm height only ? normal tables are 73 to 75 cm. 60 is for the knees.
or is it a children or school desk ?

 

Agree with Adrian. Somehow, I do not think the pull is original to the piece.

 

Sorry, I've edited the heights above after measuring it with a ruler.

The iPhone app wasn't accurate.

The correct measurements are as follows:

Length: 1.36 M | 53.54 inches
Width: 0.82 M | 32.28 inches
Height: 0.78 M | 30.71 inches

@mods: Looks like I can't edit the changes. Can you guys make it for me with the correct measurements above?

 

The pull as in the draw? What makes you think that it's not original to the piece?

 

you don't need to be ashamed for the faults with your eye phone. many here have problems with the different measuring systems.
I for one look at my foot all the times and then I remember that it's appr. 30 cm they're talking about.

 

It's a typical civil service desk and they went on well after WW2. I had one. The drawer handle is fine.

 

that's why it rang a bell. I had an acquaintance in Dublin back in the late 70s that worked as a civil servant. as a poor student I met him in his office to get the cheapest lunches in Dublin in their staff canteen.

 

Umm so it might be from post WWII? From the draws and joints, any idea which eta?

 

Stick with the original advice, pre WWII. Post WWII had seen subtle changes in office furniture to lighter oak, lighter guage wood and without the clumsy iron cleats of 15/20years previous. The difference in furniture making over a 15/20 year period is obvious even though manufacturers clung to the same basic principles. https://www.google.com/search?q=194...g&ei=Xr5KX6feNYrEa6XinfgH&client=opera&hs=vVq

 

Thanks! Any idea where it could be made? If it's here in NZ - is it likely that it's made here in New Zealand.

Any possibility that it's made abroad?

 

Shipped in from the mother country. NZ was a British colony until about 1947? and as with Australia and other outposts, in the 19th and early 20thC didn't have much of a manufacturing base which only a few years previous had been give over to supplying the military of WWI. The English Civil Service pen pushers loved uniformity and the same basic furnishings would have been supplied to government offices and military establishments across the Empire alike and the British Government would have had already existing contracts with British manufacturers.

 

Meh, we were still procuring dark wood stuff in the early 70s. Private offices might have gone more modern, but the civil service hadn't. Colonial governments did their own thing, obvs.